Editorial: How about the Chico City Council focus on the big issues?

Our view: Bag ban? The Chico City Council should make a New Year's resolution to tackle serious issues.

Same-old, same-old. It's a 5-2 City Council again in Chico, as proved by the first vote, once again on the ridiculous issue of banning plastic bags.

We're glad to see newly seated Sean Morgan holding up the sensible vote against a ban, and thanks to Mark Sorensen for his continual level-headedness.

It's disappointing the City Council has wasted so much of the city's time and taxpayers' money on something so unnecessary.

Only a couple of dozen people have testified in a community of more than 100,000.

The campaign against plastic bags has been an argument of generalization, loopholes and decision-makers with an agenda.

We have seen no proof, other than a council generalizations, to warrant a ban. If plastic bags litter the roads and properties of Chico they aren't very visible, and we doubt the time-stretched city employees spend a lot of time picking up bags.

The other generalization is that most residents don't recycle their bags. Where's that proof? And if those bags appear in the garbage filled with dog waste or dead rats, it's a good thing they're not recycled.

Now the council is willing to ban plastic bags and let big retailers collect a 10-cent bounty on paper bags. Gee, plastic bags are bad, but killing trees is OK.

And there are all the exceptions. This ban is only on retailers larger than 10,000-square-feet and making more than $2 million. If this council was really sincere, wouldn't all plastic bags be banned? They're not. So if there's a problem with plastic bag litter, that can continue.

Tacked on to the law is a one-year implementation time, supposedly to monitor litigation. Do we think "the 5" are losing sleep because of all the plastic bags that will get away over the year?

Let's hope the council gives up frivolous issues like this and starts tackling Chico's bigger issues: crime, homelessness and the budget.